A story published today in "Food and Drink
Europe" says that food retailers are failing to attract
18-25 year olds and over-55’s to the single-serve dinner market, as a UK
think tank predicts 35 per cent of the British population will live
alone by 2021.

The report, by the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and
Unilever, identifies a shift in living habits that retailers should
acknowledge to meet the needs of single-person households.

This Europe-wide trend could see demand
for convenience food soar – but only if food retailers can provide a
range of pre-prepared meal options that cater for single people of all
age groups. A similar rise in one-person households is occurring
in the United States.

Presently retailers and meal-for-one
manufacturers concentrate on the 25-44 year old age group - missing out
on the lucrative 18-24 and over 55’s categories.

“Most ready meals
are targeted at the 25-44 year old market, and retailers are doing a
good job at that, as seen in increased sales,”
said data analyst Daniel Bone, of Datamonitor.

“But now the market
is becoming saturated it’s not about getting those 25-44 year olds to
consume more – it’s about attracting new customers.”

The 18-24 year old market remains the
most underdeveloped as retailers presume this sector contains mainly
students and lower income earners looking for budget meal options.

But Bone explained this might not be an
accurate evaluation of the market:
“Economy brands are targeted at students and young people, but our
research suggests that this may not be what they want.”

Another missed category - the elderly
market - may also respond to specific targeting.

In the UK this group, classed as those
over 55, accounts for 26.5 per cent of the total consumption value of
ready meals, in France they account for 25.2 per cent and in Germany
27.4 per cent.

“The elderly market
is untapped, even though they are a group likely to embrace meal-for-one
solutions,” said Bone.

“There are an
increasing number of elderly people living alone, and when they get
older their appetites and calorific needs decline, so they look for
smaller size meals.”

“But the biggest
barrier for ready-meal makers targeting this category is that they are
perceived to be bad for you.”

Many consumers still believe
pre-packaged meals are lower in vitamins and minerals and higher in fat
and salt than home-cooked alternatives.

Supermarkets have been competing in
this niche for some time through direct competition ranges like
Sainburys Be Good To Yourself and Asda’s Good For You label.

But Marks and Spencers have taken the
healthy ready meal concept a step further with its chilled Eat Well
range of well-balanced dinners that do not contain artificial
flavourings, colourings or sweetners.

Frozen foods giant Unilever said it was
too early to determine how the IPPR research will affect it’s future
marketing strategy, but the September relaunch of the Birds Eye
SteamFresh range has targeted single householders looking for healthy
convenience food.

“Our steamed
vegetable range will appeal to single livers because rather than having
one vegetable you get a selection, and these come in one-portion packs
that we think will benefit those living alone,” he said.

Currently 24 per cent of all UK chilled
soup sales and 18 per cent of ready meals sales are to single-person
households.

And
shoppers looking for late night convenience options are swelling the
British convenience market, which is valued at £23.9 billion, an
increase of 4.9 per cent since 2004, according to the IGD.